Store Is Reborn As Trail Offices, Way Station

Neighbors/Severna Park

November 22, 1990|By Joni Guhne

Happy Thanksgiving. As you look through this morning's combined edition of The Sun and The Evening Sun, your household is probably very busy right now, the air filled with rich aromas of roasting bird and baking pies, electric with anticipation of the great feast to come. On the other hand, if you have put off your reading and it is evening, your Thanksgiving dinner may well be history, the leftovers in the refrigerator, the kitchen spic-and-span, that second piece of pie resting uneasily in an overloaded tummy.

Don't worry. There are no calories in today's news, but it is being served with a -- of history.

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In the next few weeks, Parks Superintendent Dave Dionne will move into his new office in the restored 19th-century building on Earleigh Heights Road, next to John Listman's store. Marking the midway point along the trail, this will be headquarters for the B&A Hike and Bike Trail Park.

Just a tick over 100 years ago, in 1889, the two-story structure was built by Gustav Hetschel on 1 acres bordering the B&A Short Line. For this gold mine of a piece of property, Hetschel paid Cyrus and Ida Robinson $85.

The original plot from which this was portioned totaled nearly 200 acres and was called by the poetic name On's Morning Walk.

For nearly 50 years, the building was used as a general store, and in 1937 Hetschel made a nice profit by selling the property to George Hopf for $1,200. In 1943 Hopf sold it to John Listman's parents, Conrad and Louise, who used it as a store until they built the one in business today.

In 1953, the Katlic family became the owners, and the structure was finally purchased by Anne Arundel County through its Scattered Sights Renewal Program.

The modernized building, with its beautifully restored wood-shingle mansard roof, will include offices for the superintendent and three additional park rangers. A separate annex, joining the main building by a breezeway, will house public restrooms -- a welcome sight for trail users, as the original structure lacked indoor plumbing.

Steve Chisholm, contractor in charge of the project, explained that the distinct gold and red paint used in the restoration is authentic and was verified when original boards were sent to a Pennsylvania firm to be analyzed.

Fortunately, all windows and doors have been saved, as well as most of the wall and floorboards.

Designed in the Second Empire style, as confirmed by early photos and sketches, the building is a rare example of the classic 1880s style found locally only in the city of Annapolis.

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John T. Latham and Arnold Gardener, members of the Severn River Lions Club and Severna Park residents, have been named Melvin Jones Fellows.

They were selected by the Lions Club International Foundation to receive the foundation's highest award, named for the founder of Lions Clubs International.

A Lion since 1960, Latham is a past club president and a participant in such fund-raising efforts as the annual fruit sales and such community projects as the Lake Waterford playground. He and his wife of 50 years, Sally, have lived in Severna Park since 1949.

Gardener, also a past president, joined the Lions 23 years ago and was the club's first fruit sale chairman in 1976. He and his wife, Eleanor, have lived in the town for 21 years.

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Notice anything unusual along Hahn Drive this past weekend? If you traveled that route Saturday, you saw West Ridge residents out in force, conducting a major cleanup along the road that leads to their community.

That's a good idea for the rest of us.

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Even before our Thanksgiving turkey has begun its reincarnation as fricassee, soup and sandwiches, the next holiday is in the works.

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The Arnold Women's Club will have its annual Holiday Cookie Swap during the monthly meeting at 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Broadneck Library on Green Holly Drive.

If you're interested in attending the meeting or joining the group, call 757-0348.

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The Ballet Theatre of Annapolis spends months working on its annual holiday production of the "Nutcracker." In September, the children's parts were filled, and many of the young dancers hail from Greater Severna Park and Arnold: Gabrielle Kotler, Dawn Blackman, Angela Maloney, Lynsey Schneider, Monica Anselm, Vanessa Thebaud and Brandie Williams.